Getting Those Fingers Back into Shape

I think it's safe to say that most music students take it easy during the summer. Most music teachers like to as well. However, with fall just around the corner, it's time to strengthen those fingers!

I recommended a few popular books with hand exercises a while back. Last year, I finally worked through the first book of Hanon exercises:

The New Hanon (link to my affiliate link)

This summer, I'm working my way through the Schmitt Five-Finger Exercises, op. 16 (affiliate link).

What I really like about the Schmitt exercises is that they are five-finger exercises. Sure, you're supposed to play them 15 times each, but it's really not that bad. I use the following pattern:

• Five times legato

• Five times staccato

• Five times something else

That "something else" could be portato, or jazz triplets or two-note slurs. I do notice that it takes at least five repetitions of the pattern before my tone evens out.

If you're looking for a way to get your fingers back into shape before the fall, you can't go wrong with Hanon or Schmitt. It beats playing your Conservatory scales, chords and arpeggios every day.

Starting a New Chapter on Social Media Management Tools

After less than a month of using Hootsuite Pro, I've cancelled my account. I really enjoyed being able to have "one dashboard to rule them all" but the limitations that I encountered with this social media management tool were aggravating:

1. Being limited to using the Owl.ly and Hoot.ly link shorteners: Simply not a fan. Whether I was sharing a photo or a blog post that I scheduled for two days in advance, Hootsuite would simply share the item as the shortened link - without the summary blurb or featured photo. The result? A decease in readership because people are afraid to click on the links since they had no clue what the link was about.

2. Only being able to post to my business G+ page. You know, sometimes, I'd like to post as me, the music teacher/musician.

3. The mobile app leaves much to be desired. The mobile app would tell me that one of my former coworkers posted something but half the time, it showed up as their photo and nothing else. Ergo, I'd still have to log into LinkedIn to find out what the post was about. Also, the mobile app is limited only to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

4. No integration with Feedly: Hootsuite has the Hootsuite Syndicator for managing your blog subscriptions. However, I prefer Feedly. It's slick, it's sexy and very easy to use.

5. Missing "Likes": Whenever I "Liked" a post on the Hootsuite app, when I logged in Facebook, that "Like" is gone. Now, I know "liking" only goes so far, but I thought it would go a bit further than my Hootsuite app.

Now what?

Remember Buffer? I mentioned them when I first began this journey into SMM tools. It seems to be popular with quite a few bloggers. There's a Free Plan and an Awesome Plan. The latter is $10/month and gives you up to 12 social networking profiles. Although I'm testing out the Free Plan, I can tell you now that if I'm satisfied, I'll upgrade to the Awesome Plan. It's the only plan I can look at since I have two FB business pages and my Wall, along with multiple Twitter accounts.

Buffer and Feedly are partners. This means sharing with them just got a whole lot easier. Not only that, it looks like they both will talk to Evernote (a new app that I'm trying out).

Buffer has one drawback: not G+ integration. It looks like Google+ has to be treated differently. Either I just use the G+ mobile app or check out Do Share. Now Do Share allows you to schedule posts to your business page and your personal profile. That is handy.

So that is the next leg on my journey to find the ideal social media management tools for my business.

Where to Find Lead Sheets and Fake Books Online

Fake books and lead sheets are used by many musicians, from amateurs to professionals. They provide music makers with a springboard for embellishing or improvising solo or in collaboration. They also provide musicians an opportunity to practice their keyboard harmony skills.

What is a Fake Book? What is a Lead Sheet?

look inside

The Ultimate Fake Book - 5th Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Standards, Pop, Country and Rock. Fakebook (spiral bound). With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 808 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240024).

A lead sheet is an arrangement of a musical score that contains the melody, lyrics and chord symbols. According to Blake Neely, “The accompaniment part of the song is left to you, the performer. You have to ‘fake’ your own accompaniment or arrangement.” (Neely, Blake. How to Play from a Fake Book, Keyboard Edition. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 1999).

Fake books or “real books” contain hundreds of lead sheets. There are fake books for classical music, wedding music, pop and rock, ethnic music, jazz, Latin music, and more.

Buy Fake Books Online

Most music retailers carry a selection of fake books. Larger retailers are equipped to handle online purchases.

Musicians can also order fake books directly from music publishers, such as the Hal Leonard Corporation. Online book retailers, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble, also carry fake books.

Free Lead Sheets Online

Various websites offer free lead sheets online legally. Free sheet music that is legal falls under the Free Art License, which "grants the right to freely copy, distribute, and transform creative works without infringing the author's rights."(Free Art License 1.3, accessed July 6, 2010).

This is a small selection of lead sheets posted by the original arrangers:

Wikifonia is a site where musicians can share their lead sheet arrangements. There is a wide variety of music available, including pop, jazz and rock. Visitors can transpose the arrangement prior to printing and make requests for an arrangement to be made.

Sibelius Music contains over 94,000 scores on its website. There are lead sheets available for pop, rock, jazz and worship music. Viewers can listen to musical selections as well as transpose lead sheets prior to printing. Scorch software is required to view the scores properly.

ChordMusic.net contains over 1,800 songs for chord piano, keyboard, guitar, and voice. Musicians can find music by ABBA, Elvis and the Beatles. The site also contains a chord finder. A small donation is required prior to downloading these lead sheets.

Things to Watch for When Downloading Free Lead Sheets

There are two things to watch out for when searching for free sheet music online: illegal scans of copyrighted scores, and poor arrangements.

While a transcription shared freely by the arranger is legal, scanning a lead sheet that is copyrighted by someone else is not. Musicians should inspect the music score carefully to confirm its authenticity. Fuzzy quality is a sign of photocopying or scanning.

Prior to downloading free lead sheets, it is prudent to review several different arrangements. Musicians should check the chord symbols and rhythms to see if these elements are consistent (they should be close). Some lead sheets will contain simplified chords. Music students should consult with their music teacher if they require assistance in this area.

Fake books and lead sheets provide musicians with a road map to follow as they explore embellishing and improvisation. Whether they are playing solo or in a group, fake books and lead sheets can offer musicians countless hours of repertoire and enjoyment.

Originally published on Suite101.com on July 6, 2010. Updated August 7, 2013.

Infrared Therapy for Canine Arthritis

Each of Maestro's laser therapy sessions concludes with a stint of infrared heat therapy. From the look on his face, it's a pleasant experience for him:

Maestro is going to the Canine Aquafitness Centre every second week, so I bit the bullet and bought our own Thermotex™ Platinum Infrared Therapy System during our visit two weeks ago. The bonus is that now I can use it too! Goodbye back and shoulder pain!

The other bonus - we can use it every day. Actually, we can use it up to four times a day.

Check out my official product review of the Thermotex™ Personal Therapy System on my Stumbling Still blog. This portable personal pain relief device can be used by adults, children and pets.

The Moving Instant at The BeatNiq Review, February 4 and 5, 2011

Grunge met jazz, jazz rock, bebop and gospel when the The Moving Instant, took to the stage at The BeatNiq Jazz and Social Club on Friday, February 4, 2011. They performed a number of original compositions and standards.

The group, comprised of Jason Graham, Stefano Valdo and Gavin Sorochan looked at home on stage at The BeatNiq Jazz and Social Club when they performed. The jazz fusion trio welcomed guest musician Steve Fletcher on keyboards.

Grunge, Bebop and Mindblowing Licks in the First Set

“Track 1”, written by Jason Graham is a jazz rock number that was reminiscent of some classic Santana songs. While Graham's solo on electric guitar was edgy and very rock influenced, Steve Fletcher's hummingbird-like solo contained elements of bebop.

“I'm a product of the grunge era,” admitted Graham before playing another original work called “Facelift”. He confessed to the audience that he grew up listening to the Stone Temple Pilots and other influential grunge bands. “Facelift” was the group's tribute to the Stone Temple Pilots.

“Crisis at Christmas” is a number written by bassist Stefano Valdo, who performed on a fretless bass. This was one of the few slow numbers on the programme. The melancholy timbre gradually built up momentum.

Gavin Sorochan's drum solo was riveting. The driving beat metamorphosed into equally driving rolls and complex rhythms. Just as mesmerizing was Sorochan's expressiveness at his instrument.

The group wrapped up the first set with a John Scofield number, “Filibuster”. Also featured in the first set was another Jason Graham number, “Nothing Crass”.

Funky Grooves, Gospel and Standards Mark the Second Set

The Moving Instant launched the second set with a cover tune called “Crash Course”. Graham's guitar solo weaved at a moderate pace before gathering steam. Valdo, who switched to a fretted electric bass, played a funk-influenced solo. The guitars comped with a rock groove throughout Sorochan's drum solo.

“BFD” was written by Graham and Valdo. This began with a driving drum riff before the other instrumentalists joined in. This number evoked images of video game fight scenes its the aggressive, funk rhythms. Steve Fletcher demonstrated his versatility by switching from a funk groove to a gospel-influenced one in the blink of an eye.

The group ended their show with a John Coltrane classic, “Giant Steps”. “Fast” doesn't begin to describe this number. The tempo and rapidly changing harmonies make this number a challenging one to play (but so much fun to hear). Graham, Sorochan, Valdo and Fletcher did not miss a beat during their rapidly flowing lines. Even at that fast tempo, each musician was able to play some very punchy rhythms.

Also performed in the second set were “Blue in Green” by Miles Davis, “Big Jewel” by Stefano Valdo and “You're Only Young Once” by Jason Graham. For an encore, The Moving Instant played another Miles Davis classic, “All Blues”.

All four musicians demonstrated technical virtuosity, confidence and love for their art. They were evenly matched. For the most part, the balance was good, although there were times that it was hard to hear the keyboard and bass over the drums.

The most frustrating element to the evening was the lack of audience etiquette. At times, it was difficult to hear the bass and keyboards simply because several members of the audience were talking loudly throughout the performances.

Just as disturbing was the small amount of applause after technically demanding solos played with aplomb. There is a difference between background music and performance music. The Moving Instant played the latter, which should have generated more applause than was given.

The Moving Instant Plays the BeatNiq

The Moving Instant is a jazz fusion trio made up of Jason Graham, Stefano Valdo and Gavin Sorochan. The group was formed in 2009. Joining them for this performance was Steve Fletcher on keyboard. All musicians are based in Calgary, Alberta and perform in a number of groups, including the Allistair Elliot Band and the Tricia Edwards Quartet.

Jazz fusion trio The Moving Instant played to a lively crowd at The BeatNiq in Calgary, Alberta on February 4 & 5, 2011. Jason Graham (guitar), Stefano Valdo (bass) and Gavin Sorochan (drums), along with special guest Steve Fletcher (keyboards) delivered technically demanding and impressive solos.

Originally published on Suite101.com on February 7, 2011. Updated August 7, 2013. Please note that the BeatNiq has closed since the original  publication of this article. The venue has since re-opened as The Wine-Ohs.